These colorful Rainbow Wands are a perfect way to get your spring season started. They are so much fun for kids to make and play with!
After literally the longest February in years (I say literally because it was a leap year this year, ha ha), it’s finally March! Don’t you agree March is all about four-leaf clovers and good luck and colorful rainbows?! I wanted to start the month off with these fun little Rainbow Wands. Keep reading to learn how to make your own!
What supplies are needed for Rainbow Wands?
- Twigs – You’ll want to find clean, dry twigs about 16 inches long and no more than 1 cm in diameter. We made six and made sure all the twigs were around the same size.
- Yarn – You can get creative with this. You could use the standard red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple rainbow colors or you could shades of these or whatever you like!
- Felt – We used white felt for our stars at the tip of the wand, but any color you have or prefer will work!
- Star template – We used a star cookie cutter for our template, but a print out would work too.
- Scissors – Scissors will be needed to cut out the felt stars and cut the strands of yarn. Heavy duty scissors are helpful in trimming the twigs as well.
- Glue – We used hot glue for our wands because I wanted a secure hold, but regular school glue or wood glue would work as well.
How do you make a Rainbow Wands?
- Collect twigs. We found our twigs on a bush in our front yard that needed pruning, but twigs could easily be found at a park or in the forest. Collect smooth and dry twigs about 16 inches long and about 1 cm in diameter. Be sure to cut off snags so you’re working with a nice smooth twig.
- Wrap them with yarn. Once you’ve collected twigs and gotten them ready, you’ll begin wrapping them in colorful yarn. Start by knotting a piece of red yarn at the base. Once your knot is secure, start wrapping the yarn around the twig as tightly as you can, without leaving any gaps. Tuck the excess yarn under the wrapped yarn. After you’ve covered about and inch or two with red yarn, cut it off and tie a piece of orange onto the red strand. Once your knot is secure, start wrapping the orange as you did the red. Keep going, by adding yellow yarn, then green, blue, and purple. Once you’ve reached the end of the twig, tie a tight knot and trim off the leftover yarn.
- Cut out felt stars. We used a star cookie cutter as a template for cutting out our stars. Lay the star on top of a piece of white felt, draw a border, and then cut them out.
- Glue stars onto wand. Using a hot glue gun to attach the felt stars to the tip of the wand will provide the most secure and permanent hold, however, the stars could be fastened with regular school glue as well. If you were doing this as a forest school activity out in nature, you could cut a slit in the middle of the star and slip them over the tip of your wand. This would be quick and easy, but not as permanent.
What do you do with Rainbow Wands?
- Learn colors. One of my favorite things about these wands is how colorful they are! They are such a fun way to help your young children learn the primary colors of a rainbow.
- Practice fine motor skills. Making these wands will require plenty of hand-eye coordination. It will give your child an opportunity to practice their fine motor skills as they wrap the yarn around and around the twig. My 7-year-old had no trouble at all, but my 4-year-old did need a little assistance with his.
- Play dress-up with them. These magical looking Rainbow Wands are the perfect finishing touch to your child’s springtime fairy costume. Or springtime prince or princess costume.
- Use them for imaginative play. Kids are blessed with these amazingly creative minds, perfect for make-believe. These wands will really transport your kids into their own fantasy world. My kids used them for hours as they played some game about fairies and dragons.
- Give them away as a party favor. This year, for his fourth birthday, my son requested a rainbow theme party. I didn’t have them at the time, but these would have been a great party favor to give out at his party. They’re easy to make and kids would have a blast playing with them at a birthday party.
- Make them at Forest School. These wands make a perfect forest school activity because they can easily be incorporated into the forest setting your children will be in. Since it only requires natural materials, and doesn’t need tools or electricity, it could easily be done outside in a nature setting. Just cut your felt stars ahead of time and bring yarn with you.
- Use them as a colorful decoration. When my kids aren’t playing with these, they sit in a jar on my daughter’s dresser, decorating her bedroom. They are a fun little pop of color for any child’s room.
- Create home-made gifts. We are all about hand-made gifts at our house. We love making things for people we love and we love receiving hand-made gifts. There’s something really special about a child giving a gift they spent a lot of time and effort creating.
How to Make Rainbow Wands
These colorful Rainbow Wands are a perfect way to get your spring season started. They are so much fun for kids to make and play with!
Materials
- Twigs
- Yarn
- Felt
- Star template
Tools
- Scissors
- Hot glue gun
Instructions
1. First, collect 6 smooth and dry twigs about 16 inches long and about 1 cm in diameter. Trim off snags and cut them to all around the same length.
2. Next, wrap the twigs with rainbow colored yarn. Start by knotting a piece of red yarn at the base. Once your knot is secure, start wrapping the yarn around the twig as tightly as you can, without leaving any gaps. Tuck the excess yarn under the wrapped yarn. After you've covered about and inch or two with red yarn, cut it off and tie a piece of orange yarn onto the red strand. Once your knot is secure, start wrapping the orange as you did the red. Keep going, by adding yellow yarn, then green, blue, and purple. Once you've reached the end of the twig, tie a tight knot and trim off the leftover yarn.
3. Next, cut out felt stars. A star cookie cutter or paper star could be used as a template. Lay the star on top of a piece of white felt, draw a border, and then cut them out.
4. Finally, attach the stars onto the end of the wand with a hot glue gun.
Notes
*If you are doing this as a Forest School activity, instead of using a hot glue gun to attach the felt stars to the tip of the wand, try cutting a slit in the middle of the star and slipping them over the tip of your wand.
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